Revisiting the other benefits of hydroelectricity

Since its beginning in 1935, the Grand River Dam Authority has been in the hydroelectricity business. After all, Pensacola Dam – Oklahoma’s first hydroelectric facility — was built to harness the waters of the Grand River, and the river has produced a lot of megawatts of electricity for the state of Oklahoma in 70-plus years.

Of course, Pensacola is just one part of GRDA’s hydroelectric history. Robert S. Kerr Dam and the Salina Pumped Storage Project (SPSP) both followed in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Together, these resources play a role in meeting the electrical demand of thousands of Oklahomans as well as customers across a four-state region.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) hydroelectric facilities, like GRDA’s, “fit the concept of renewable energy” because these facilities use “running water, without reducing its quantity, to produce electricity.”  At GRDA, that water is used repeatedly as it flows down the Grand River, through Pensacola Dam and Kerr Dam. That same water can also be utilized at the SPSP, where it can be pumped into the W.R. Holway Reservoir and stored for later use. 

Here are just a few other benefits of hydroelectricity:

• Hydroelectricity increases the stability and reliability of electricity systems because hydroelectric generator units, like those inside GRDA dams, can be started very quickly. At GRDA, this quick start capability can be mixed with other portions of our diverse generation portfolio -coal, gas and wind resources - to quickly meet demand, keep rates low and reliability high.

• Hydroelectricity contributes to the storage of drinking water. Did you know GRDA lakes serve as storage for 50 Oklahoma municipal water systems and rural water districts, including Tulsa? Without the presence of hydroelectric plants, that storage might not be available.

• Hydroelectric power helps develop the entire region. The completion of the Pensacola Dam in 1940 helped usher in a new era of rural electrification across Northeast Oklahoma, while also helping to develop the region as a tourism and recreation destination that thousands enjoy year-round.

GRDA is proud of its hydroelectric history and benefits it has provided for Oklahoma!

Headquartered in Vinita, GRDA is Oklahoma’s largest public power utility; fully funded by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes. Each day, GRDA strives to be an “Oklahoma agency of excellence” by focusing on the 5 E’s: electricity, economic development, environmental stewardship, employees, and efficiency.  

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